Malign
by HaileyLiddell
Summary: The eerie silence in Jump city is soon replaced by the destructive rampage of a villain known as Malign. The Titans struggle against his immense powers whilst secrets and Tension soon fill the tower and threaten to push the team to the edge, lest the mystery of this newcomer remain unsolved. (Beastboy/Raven) (some Robin/Starfire)
1. Robin's Intro

It's been quiet for days; too quiet. He could practically hear the thoughts of every villain and petty crook in the city, waiting what were they doing? Where had they gone? was this some kind of scheme to drive him insane? It wasn't right. He looked out across the water, straining to see the blur of cars and pedestrians; waiting for the explosion, a car crash, police lights...nothing. A few birds passed his view and they didn't ever so much as swoop down for a fish. The sky was warm and blue with a sun that shone bright and warm, but some kind of thick heavy essence hung in the air; nothing like humidity. His eyes flicked to the ground a moment, it stood still. The fiber of the carpet barely twitched as he shifted his foot. He listened past the floor, into the depths of the tower; silence.

No video games. No tea kettle. No music. The titans had been carefully shuffling about the tower under the weight of an ever more threatening aura; his. They could feel his disdain, paranoia and ever bottling frustration. And in deep regard for that walked on the very tips of their toes. He felt, obviously, guilty for this but could not be shaken of his temperament. He was far too familiar with the idea of "the calm before the storm" to be anywhere but on the edge.

He looked back to the city and saw it a blaze, towers crumbling to the streets, villains dancing in the air and terrorizing the ground, delighting in their success. His fist tightened as he felt his anger swelling; a balloon inflating inside is chest except he'd be the one to burst. The presence of a titian hand deflated all of that in an instant. It was a soft touch, but held the hints of a heavy heart. He raised his own to shoulder level and placed it on top of hers. She smiled hopefully at him and pulled towards his bed. He went along but continued to watch the burning city. Taking careful note of where each ember touched the ground.


	2. Beast Boy's Boredom

Emerald fingers rapped the kitchen table in perfect rhythm. It was the only sound in the room, as everyone was tightly locked away inside their own. Such confinement fought heavily with Beast Boy's natural urge to roam. He thought the main room would be better, but with it quiet and completely devoid of life it wasn't much of an improvement. He pushed himself away from the table and journeyed to the elevator. The doors opened to a hallway of bedrooms and he started towards Cyborgs.

He knocked…no answer. "Cy?" He asked and knocked again. "Cyborg?" He waited…nothing. He focused in on the sound from the room and recognized the familiar sound. Pushing the door aside he strode in, "Dude! You're just gonna sit here and game without me!?" Cyborg jumped from his chair and cover B's mouth with a metal hand. "Shhh! Robin thinks I'm monitoring the city's online crime database, get outta here before you blow my cover!" He scooted B back out into the hallway. "But-" B tried but Cyborg was wavered, "Sorry man," he peered down towards Robin's door, "I refuse another lecture." And with that he shut the door. B muttered and went towards Robin's door. Half a knock and Star whooshed the door aside taking firm hold of his hand. "Friend please, Robin is resting," She whispered, "I fear if he wakes again he will not sleep for days." She looked tired, no doubt having lost as much sleep as Robin. "Ugh…sorry Star." He said receded towards the elevator. There was a paused as he reached for the button, "Well…" He thought, looking over his shoulder at the door next to his own. "I'd better bring incentive."

The halls seemed to narrow as he got closer. His arms felt strangely aware of the weight of the tray they were carrying. Expectation promised irritated faces and slammed doors; at the very most she would take the mug he offered her first. He probably should have just left it alone, let everyone work things out for themselves or just wait until the alarm went off. But trying to return to the main room and keep himself company proved mind numbing.

He balanced the tray with one hand to knock. She too opened the door in an instant, which threw him off. Her eyebrow raised slightly as she looked from him to the tray "What?" Her greeting was as flat as ever. "Um…hey Rae, I uh made some tea…"

"…And?" She asked looking back up at him.

"Well I was kind of hoping you'd come out and drink it with me." Her eyes squinted a bit and he smiled nervously.

"No, thanks." She finally said and started to shut the door.

B's face fell and he sighed, "Dammit." Raven stopped, her eyes darting a bit; confused.

"Sorry," She said, "Did I offend you or something?"

"No…it's just, kinda dull out here."

"And you thought _I_ was going to change that?"

B laughed quietly, "I was actually hoping to get everyone together."

"Oh…"

"So is it still a No?" The hopeful smile returned and he raised the tray. She still looked hesitant. He had known the likelihood of this working wasn't good, but somehow he still wasn't prepared to be turned down. "Aw come 'on Rae!" Before she could refuse he reached his arm forward and placed his hand on the small of her back, pushing her out the door. She let out a quiet sound of surprise but didn't swing at him. He closed her door and turned to her sheepishly. "Please?" He asked half using the tray for a shield. Her face was composed.

"…Okay."

"Okay?" He repeated almost in disbelief. She nodded and turned to walk towards the elevator. "Okay." He said to himself and walked after her.

They sat on the couch in silence, she seemed unbothered. B forced himself to sit quietly rather than disrupt it and possibly drive her away.

Despite the strange tension filling the tower now, he had become irrevocably close to his friends in recent years. They had grown and faced many difficulties together, both of which had resulted in change. B had matured, even if only slightly, and had at the very least gotten taller. He couldn't help but smile sometimes during arguments with his teammates at the thought he was finally looking down at them instead of up. His lighthearted essence remained in full, but there was an undertone of seriousness that had never existed before.

Emerald eyes looked across the couch. Raven's hair had grown far past her shoulders, tickling at her ribs. She hadn't advanced much in height but her eyes seemed to be continually adding depth. These eyes caught his staring and caused an immediate blush. "Hah, sorry. Zoned out for a minute." She almost half smiled and looked back to her tea.

They had all gotten quite used to each other; even Raven seemed at ease in her friend's presence. A mere two years ago the scene upstairs would have been entirely different. In nearly every battle, more often than not, they would end up bumping into each other. Thrown by an attack, caught mid-air, help up from the ground, such had happened hundreds of times and no one seemed to think anything of it. But anywhere else it was different. B didn't recall the first time they knocked into each other in battle but for some reason he recalled with perfect clarity when he had first touched her at home. It was such a menial thing. He had been standing in the kitchen by the fridge talking to Cy when Silkie entered the room and regurgitated something green onto the floor. He jumped back a couple feet near the hallway and shrieked, "Ew dude gross!" Star snatched her pet in fear of him being sick. He looked for something else to focus his senses on to avoid smelling the mess and caught Raven's scent coming down the hallway. He could also smell the aging pages of the book she was no doubt buried in. "Oh Rae watch out." He said and held her back with his hand. He didn't look at her right away, thinking nothing of the action. But when he finally did she was looking directly at him. He didn't understand the look of shock in her eyes. Finally, he became aware of his hand and looked at where he had placed it on her abdomen. She seemed infinitely uncomfortable against his touch; the feeling began to seep into him as well. He withdrew and curled the hand into a fist, he opened his mouth to say something but found nothing that made sense. Her eyes fluttered and then returned to her book, which she promptly closed and looked at the mess in front of her. "Gross." She said and left the room. His fist remained in the air as he watched her go.

Today she didn't so much as flinch when he had boldly led her. She had even agreed to go along with him. They had grown so much closer to each other, and he was personally glad for it. Raven sat the empty mug on the small table in front of them and sat back, he feared she would now leave. "Rae-" He started prematurely. "hmm?" She asked without looking at him. He watched as a book encased in black energy floated into her grasp. "Um…what're you reading?"

Her brow furrowed slightly. "Just meditation rituals."

"Ah…exciting." He said sounding more unenthused than he intended. She turned slightly.

"Did you have a better idea?"

B shook his head "No."

"It's best we stay quiet, lest we wake Robin up."

B agreed, leaning back into the couch.


	3. Steel City

"Cyborg, report!" Robin burst into the room startling Cyborg awake. He quickly sat up towards the screen. "Wah!" His eyes looked towards his fingers as they fumbled around on the keyboard. "Not much to report Rob. Things have been pretty quiet." Robin leaned onto the desk scanning the screen with expert eyes of determination, noticing a small spec of green near the corner.

"Zoom out to show surrounding cities." Cyborg sighed but did as told. What was revealed was a small crime streak the length of three cities. It was all coded in green, meaning it was caused by the same person.

"Whoa…All this in just one night?" Cyborg brought up the stats gathered by local police. Records of moderate damage were pages long. "Broken windows, cracked roads, over turned cars…nothing serious but it's been making a mark. Whatever this is it'll in Steel City next, and soon." Robin was already leaving the room.

"I'll brief the others; start getting ready."

"Man with a threat rating this low it should be pretty easy to stop. We could just call East and tell them-"

"If it was so easy why hasn't anyone stopped it already?" Robin combated. Cyborg sat silent. "We leave today." And with that he left the room.

Cyborg raised his communicator to his ear, the rhythmic ringing was soon replaced by Bumblebee's voice; heavy with sleep. "Cyborg? Whatsup? Kinda sleeping over here." She said rubbing at her eyes.

"You might wanna make some coffee"

"We're leaving within the hour. The sooner the better, if you can wake Beast Boy and get him up to speed I'll do the same for Star." Robin stood in front of Raven's door his adrenaline already slowly taking over his system

"Sure…" Raven said with silent concern for her friend. She would have perhaps protested or at least pointed out his haste but knew better than to object when he was this set. He swiftly turned and headed towards his room to wake Starfire. Raven's eyes, devoid of any enthusiasm, slid towards Beastboy's room. He would be dead asleep, most likely not hear her knocking or yelling if it came to that. There would be the awkward decision of whether or not to enter his room and not know what she might walk in to see. She sighed and raised her hand to knock.

Her scent filled his nostrils the moment her door had opened, and he could hear the sounds of her and Robin talking. Still he let her knock without reply. He wasn't exactly asleep but he certainly wasn't awake; more so wallowing in the comfortable space between. Images traveled through his brain with parts of reality as well as his dreamscape. They were distorted and coming in too fast to clearly see but flashes of violet of hints of incense was enough to keep him warmly confined to his bed.

Raven's head fell back towards the ceiling. She was just about to put her hand over eyes and take the plunge when a large hand graced her shoulder.

"Yo Grass Stain!" Cyborg pounded on the door, effectively producing a loud thud indicating Beast Boy had been shaken awake. "There you go." He said and continued towards the garage with his bags.

Raven smiled slightly, "Thanks." The door slid open to reveal a disheveled Beast Boy, hair messy and clothes much the same .

"Man what's going on?" Raven took him in for a moment and replied without meeting his eyes.

"We're leaving, for steel city, Robin thinks there's something headed their way that they might need help with." He grumbled but turned to rummage through a pile of clothes, selecting a clean shirt from the heap. With hesitation he pulled his current top off and revealed a slender set of muscles. Raven blushed.

"You think we'll be there a while?"

"Mm a few days maybe." She replied and watched him throw a few more shirts towards his bag along with his uniform. He then picked up of pair of jeans and threw them over his shoulder, fingers untying the knot in his pajama pants. Raven spun quickly her face deepening its shade of red. Beast Boy had to curl his lips in to fight a smirk. "Um… Robin wanted me to brief you before we leave, so everyone's up to speed."

"I'll catch up in the car." He said walking past her, his bag slung over his shoulder. "I'm not leaving without breakfast." She looked after him in annoyance and turned around to go and pack her own things.

As she placed her clothes into her bag she wallowed in irritation for a moment. Maybe the Titans had grown a little too comfortable with each other. Him practically stripping in front of her, ignoring Robin's orders; she shook her head and zipped up her bag. She then positioned herself for meditation and pulled the images to the front of her mind. She carefully folded each as if they were a physical photograph and tucked them away, out of sight as well as the emotions that went with them. When she opened her eyes she felt calm and relaxed. With a smile of efficiency she went to join the others.

They all stood outside, placing their bags in the trunk of the T car and waiting for Robin. Raven took the seat near the passenger side window and Star was about to slide in after her. "Hey star did you leave extra food out for silkie?" B asked leaning against the car.

"Gasp, I did not; thank you friend." She quickly flew towards the tower to tend to her pet. B watched her go and then jumped in next to Raven.

"So what's this all about?" Raven didn't look up from her book.

"Robin sent the information to all of our communicators, it should catch you up." He looked down at the device clipped to her belt, resting on her hip and swiftly snatched it. Her eyes widened as she felt his fingers graze her skin. She looked over at him with annoyance but he seemed to be intently looking over the data in front of him.

Robin and cyborg could be heard from outside. "The jet would be much faster; it's going to take hours to get there otherwise."

"You know we don't have the air clearance to just fly in like that. We don't even have a solid case to say why we're there. If we're going to interfere we're at least going to do it legally."

Robin grumbled in defeat and got in the front seat. Star and Cyborg soon followed.

Raven feigned interest in her book but was silently in meditation. Along with the minor irritants of the day, her nerves were flustered as soon as the words Steel City left Robin's lips. She worked silently to put away images of black eyes staring down at her through even darker hair, toned muscles and enticing smiles; all of which made her stomach flutter. It was weak to let him affect her at all, but his essence was alluring. Her empathy couldn't help but feel his confidence and intrigue whenever the two were near one another. She hoped to make use of the long drive and be fully prepared for a possible prolonged stay; going over everything piece by piece making sure not to miss anything. Any bit of curiosity, attraction, and pictures of his hands exploring her were flicked to the back of her brain. She opened her eyes, feeling complete, with one hour remaining in the drive.

Starfire was asleep against her window, the radio played softly, and Beast boy was looking at her communicator. She was surprised to see that it was data Robin sent. "Are you still looking at that?" "Mhmm." He said, his thumb pressing against his lips. She forgot from time to time how he had grown to show interest in mystery cases over the years.

"It's strange." He said still looking at the screen.

"What?" She said honestly curious.

"The rating is so low, but there's obvious proof of heavy damage everywhere this thing's been."

"No one's seen it from what I can gather." Robin chimed in. "It seems to be a rampage with no target. The damage is in a large scale but not unfixable. Broken windows, wrecked stores, just enough to get attention. It could very well be a group of petty crooks, bored and looking for trouble."

Beast boy shrugged, "Guess we'll find out," and closed the device setting it in Raven's lap. She quickly snatched it and defiantly reattached it to her other hip.

The sky had grown dusky with the beginnings of sunset. It would be dark when they reached Titan's East. She thought of Aqualad's black eyes gleaming in the moonlight and effectively felt nothing. She again smiled in self-satisfaction. With continuous meditation this mission should go by with ease.

The Titans East greeted them as soon as they arrived, having already been outside. Aqualad opened Raven's door and extended his hand. Her face didn't change as she took it and stepped out, looking straight into his eyes once free of the car. "Our visits are so infrequent. It's a shame really, I love seeing you."

"I guess we should hope for more global disasters." She said not particularly meaning to be funny. He smiled and chuckled a bit anyway.

He walked with her towards the entrance to the tower, thinking. "I can show you to the guest room if you like."

"Sure, thanks." She said looking ahead.

"And mine of course, in case of an emergency or something."

Her eyebrow rose slightly. "Emergency?"

"Yes, mine is the closest to the guest quarters since they're on the lower levels. I like to be near the water."

"Makes sense." She agreed.

The others were a ways ahead of them, but sharp green ears picked up on Aqualad's words. From her tone Raven seemed aware but unphased by what he said. B took some comfort in this but still couldn't help but feel disgust at such a cheap proposition and the thin veil that attempted to cover it. He slowed his pace so that they caught up to him. "If there was an emergency I'd be the first to know." B said, prompting looks from both of them. He pointed to his ears, "Nothing gets by the ears." He smiled lightheartedly but directed his comment towards the man next to him. Aqualad met his eyes with a glare.

"I suddenly feel so much safer." Raven said and walked ahead of both of them to join the others.

"Must be nice to have the power of eavesdropping." Aqualad said to B once Raven was out of ear shot.

"Ah come on I'm sure there's all kinds of dolphin drama you get to overhear."

"Actually I typically mind my own business."

"Well I kinda think my friends are my business so"

"Well _I_ kinda think you're wrong." The intensity of Aqualad's glare was now accompanied by a fiercely irritated scowl.

"Whoa dude, don't get so worked up. What's the likelihood of Raven needing help anyway; pretty sure she wouldn't need either of us in an emergency."

"You wouldn't know what to do if she did." Aqualad crossed his arms and looked away in a feeble attempt to block him out. Beastboy felt his skin cool with the underlying content of Aqualad's choice of words. He suddenly felt protective, on edge. But quickly realizing the silliness of such feelings he pushed them aside before a brawl began. The two had never much gotten along, but Aqualad's cheap pursuit of Raven in recent years had only added to their feuding. "You're right. What do I know about a girl I've lived with for six years anyway?" He skipped ahead leaving Aqualad to scowl under his breath, twisting his hands into fists. His sincere opinion of B had long since been that of an annoying child. Over time that was slowly developing into annoying competition, and he was not so fond of competition. He didn't see him as any real threat, for he had never seen Raven regard him as anything but frustrating as well. The only change was his comments were getting slightly more difficult to combat, and he didn't need to waste anymore brain power of arguing with a grass stain. He hadn't been too worried about a possible clan of punks messing up a few cities but the opportunity to have Raven stay at his tower for even two nights was too much to ignore. He had been preparing since this morning when cyborg had called. He wouldn't have this opportunity tarnished with Beast Boy's antics. If need be, he had no qualms about pounding his face to different color.


	4. Steel City pt 2

It had started out as simply a lazy weekend. No crime to report on, so they all indulged in other things. Robin and Star spent their evenings at restaurants, something she particularly enjoyed. The experience of trying new earthly cuisines was thrilling to the alien. Robin just loved to see her curiously nudge the food around her plate.

Cyborg effectively tuned up any and every piece of machinery that did or did not need it. He also installed several updates to the towers mainframe and spent any free time left over perfecting his waffle flip or beating Beast Boy on the game station.

Beast Boy worked out a lot, or allowed his various animal forms to divulge in their favorite activities. He would soar as a falcon, dive into the depths of the ocean as a swordfish, or simply makes laps around the island as a dog. The first few day he also quite avidly gamed with Cyborg. Sadly repeatedly getting your rear handed to you can diminish the appeal of virtual reality. "Geez, at least in real life I win a fight once in awhile!" The changeling exclaimed in frustration leaving the room. His robotic friend merely laughed triumphantly and resumed playing in solo mode.

Raven hadn't planned to do anything outside of making her way through her bookcase. She refreshed her knowledge of spells, meditation rituals, making the most of your mantras, and enjoyed her fair share of fantasy novels. The only time she bothered to leave the room was for tea. This effectively took up her first two days off; on the third she was indulging in a dreamy nap when awakened by rapping at her door. She shifted so that she was facing the hallway; focusing to catch the essence of who it was. With a sigh, she pushed herself up and opened the door. This better be important, she thought but only gave her usual, "What?" as a greeting. An overly friendly smile greeted her back.

"Hey, you busy?" He asked

"Um...yes?" she thought longingly back to her bed.

"Oh, well is it important? I'm about to keel over out here." She gave him a questioning look. He shrugged, "Bored."

"Oh...kay?" She couldn't much figure out why her was telling her this. He couldn't possibly think she would want to join him in mega monkeys three.

"Well we haven't had movie night in awhile. Would you maybe wanna...? He drew his last word out, gaging her reaction. She grimaced, and seeing her do this his face fell a bit. His eyes looked past her to her floor where one of her fantasy novels lie. An idea came to mind.

"Just wait right here." He said motioning her stay put and sprang to his room to dig through his movie collection. A few minutes later he returned to, thankfully, see her leaning against her door frame. "You'll like this one." He said presenting her with a case. She looked it over. _A Princess Brid__e. _It did genuinely looked interesting.

So they spent their evening together, sitting in his room enjoying various films and small talk. Raven had been surprised by his collection being much more than bad comedies and horror films; and even more so by his knowledge of them. "How do you know so much about this stuff?"

He laughed lightly, "I guess when I was younger I thought I would be an actor or something."

She couldn't help but smile, "Really?"

"Yeah didn't you want to be anything when you were younger?"

She flushed, "Not evil." Though she was serious he couldn't help but laugh at his friend.

"You're not evil Rae, temperamental maybe." He grinned widely hoping she would take offense. And to his surprise she laughed; actually laughed. It felt as strange for her to do as it was for him to see. It had been some time since the defeat of Trigon. His influence over her gone, she didn't need to reign in her emotions as she once did but she found it to be something to get used to. She supposed, for whatever reason, she felt as ease in this moment. Beast Boy just had that effect on people, and she was silently glad to finally be able to enjoy it.

That day and even the weeks that followed had been so welcomed. The Titans had time to do all the things they put to the side for the sake of fighting crime. They had been reminded of what it felt like to simply be friends again, not just teammates, and Beast Boy had perhaps enjoyed that most of all. How had things slipped into such a dark place? He couldn't just blame Robin, for they all felt paranoia and suspicion as the crime-less nights went on. Still it seemed strange to go from lounging in his room exchanging thoughts to pounding a punching bag to shreds in preparation of some unknown enemy. He kicked, hit, and spun the thing until the chain broke. He bent over sweating profusely. Robin made his way over. "Alright Rob," He panted out, "That's the third one. Do you think I could do something _else?_"

Robin hooked a fresh bag up and nodded, "Everyones heading outside to practice battle simulation, you can join them."

All of them waited as Cyborg began setting up the simulation. The sky was growing dark, likely to be raining soon, and taking note of that Bee convinced Robin that this would be a single round practice. Soon the island and tower disappeared behind the image of a busy street corner. Buildings, cars, and civilians were everywhere. "Come on..." Beast Boy groaned.

"Ah he doesn't look so tough." Speedy reassured his friend while directing his attention to a gigantic monster heading towards them. Robin jumped ahead of his team.  
"Mas, Menos try to trip him up. Raven, Star, Beast Boy take the sky. The rest of you follow my lead. Titans go!"

Less than an hour later, things had gone fairly well. No casualties, but a lot of wreckage. The fight simulator gave them a cumulative score of 86%. the beginnings of a heavy rain saved them from a do over and everyone eagerly headed inside to prepare dinner. "I don't know about y'all but I'm starving!" Cyborg exclaimed as he pulled several things from the fridge.

"Dude tell me you guys have tofu." Be joined his friend in rummaging.

Robin instantly glued himself to his computer, looking over police reports for the past few hours. Nothing? How can there be nothing? It couldn't have just disappeared, why make such an entrance only to sneak away? It didn't make sense. He pulled up the city's security cameras and watched closely for signs of anything.

Once things were ready, Star had been quite insistent that he join them for dinner and so he had. Secretly monitoring things from his communicator of course. Both Beast Boy and Aqualad made it a point to sit next to Raven. Aqualad took the opportunity to speak to them both. "I love the rain," He stated, "It's great weather for swimming. Would you like to join me?" His voice was smooth, inciting. The waves of confidence and intrigue coming of of him now were enough to choke the empath. The changeling sat quietly, despite the images of drowning the man playing in his head.

"I prefer the rain from inside." She answered dryly, giving away nothing.

Aqualad didn't intend to pursue the it, or go swimming for that matter. "Too bad, the moonlight looks good on you." He said brushing her hair behind her shoulder, causing a deep blush. Beast Boy grit his teeth to keep quiet.

After dinner Raven was quick to head for her room, feeling the dire need to meditate. Beast Boy was quick to catch up with her. He was hoping now that they were out of the stuffiness of the tower they could find time to talk. Once things began to go downhill at home, the same happened with their friendship. All it would take was a movie with a gunshot or explosion and Robin would have the place on lock down. Everyone began to tip toe around, not saying or doing much of anything. He hoped the trend wouldn't continue.

"Hey Rae." He said catching her at the elevator.

"Hmm?" She replied almost disinterested. He hated that.

"You okay? I know Garth can be-"

"He's fine B." He took note that she used the nick name she had given him, "Nothing I can' t handle anyway."

"I know, but just if you want I have no problem pummeling him for you."

She shook her head, smirking a bit, "Always looking out for me aren't you?"

"Always." He agreed smiling at her happily. She rolled her eyes.

They walked silently together, being that their rooms were adjacent, but he couldn't help but look at her. She looked tired. "Night Rae." He said walking past her to his own door.

"Night." She said receding into her own. He watched long enough to see her door slide shut and lock before eagerly collapsing on his bed.

-Sorry to everyone who has been waiting for the update. Though I have no real excuse, I can at least offer it was for the good of a better story. And with that I can also announce the news of the audio versions of these chapters appearing on my youtube channel in the near future. I'll post the link when things are ready. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and please continue to do so! I thank you kindly :)


	5. Intro To Malign

Groans and sighs were audible as the drool producing wait went on. All the titans, looking more like angsty teens than ever, stood/slumped in the living room staring at Robin. A glowed fist covered his mouth as he stared at the map in front of him. Though he had been in this stance for twenty minutes, none of them were permitted to leave until they had been given their assignments. If they attempted to do so he would stop them immediately, "Alright I've got it!" He'd announce and they would collectivity sigh in relief, only to hear him afterwards, "Wait, no that leaves that whole side open..." And they would then all groan as he resumed mumbling to himself.

Beast Boy was now on the floor. Raven merely pinched the bridge of her nose, silently growing concern Robin was losing it.

Early that morning the news reported on a small explosion near the center of th city. Obviously, according to Robin, it could only be the person behind the previous crimes. No one saw it, and the police had no leads to point them in one direction or another. Thus the only logical thing for the Titans to do was aimlessly search the city until they found something.

Robin lay the map down on the table for the rest of them to see. "I've coded each area, you'll each be taking a different part of the city. Some overlap, so just continue as pairs." Raven's route crossed with with Starfire. Beast Boy took a strange sense of relief from that, but also noted his own overlapped Aqualad's; entirely. _Typical, _he thought, _I always get thrown in the water._ Even if slightly wound up , Robin was as good as ever when it came to reading people, "I put you and Aqualad together. Obviously you're the most efficient in the water, I hope that okay."

Beast Boy played it off, "Yea man, nothing like an a fishing trip to spark the bonding." Aqualad merely scowled.

"Good." Robin said to all of them, "Then if everyone knows their position, Titans go!" Despite the blind search they were about to embark on, they all left more than anxiously.

Every half hour their relentless leader would check in for updates. Aside from that they all chatted back and forth. Cyborg dialed Bumble Bee, who was in close range, "Man this guys got me rummaging through warehouses and abandoned buildings. Now how do we know this things not a ghost?!" Bee laughed at her friend.

"Don't you have a paranormal scanner built into you somewhere?"

"Er no I don't think so." Cyborg deadpanned.

"Well did you ever check?"

"Ah shoot no, lemme try it. Go Go gadget ghost detector...nope definitely don't have one." They both laughed while continuing their search.

They all in fact remained rather light hearted, except Aqualad who was a bit annoyed that Beast Boy was sitting on a rock calling Raven. Her hooded face appeared on the screen, "Find anything?" She asked.

Beast Boy shrugged, "Don't think so, just a lot of snobby fish."

"Sounds Dangerous."

Aqualad chimed in from a distance, "Yeah I guess Beast Boy's calling for backup since he couldn't possible be taking _another_ break!" He resumed diving in and out of the water.

"Would it be so awful if he forgot to came up for air?" Beast Boy asked the empath on the screen.

"Idiot! I can breathe under water!" Aqualad again interjected. Beast Boy's face was one of pure annoyance.

Raven couldn't suppress a smile, "Alright I'm about to meet up with Star. I'll call back if necessary." And with that she hung up.

She had been aimlessly flying around for hours, and decided to try and street or two on foot. As she ended her call with Beast Boy she came upon a man sitting on the ledge about a foot above her head. "Beautiful day." He spoke as she passed him, "But always better with a pretty girl." Raven looked at him, annoyed but she suspected she was still blushing. His hair was silver, almost white and just reaching his neck. He was tall, wearing gray pants and a short sleeved hoodie that showed off his chest and tattoo; a snake wrapped around his right arm, its tail going into its own mouth creating a circle. He leaned easily on the ledge, dark eyes watching her.

"Um..yeah." She mumbled and walked past him. He leapt to the ground and followed, causing her to stop. "Did you need something?" She asked trying to assess his threat level. Strangely she couldn't read anything from him; only the slight traces of...curiosity?

He smiled almost slyly, "No, not really. But then again..." He trailed off, seemingly in thought.

"I don't have time for this." She said and once again went to leave. This time a hand stopped her. She immediately turned and firmly removed it, sending a clear message. He backed off with his hands raised still as smiles.

"Easy. I just wanted to ask your name." She glared at the stranger, why would he possibly need her name?

"I don't think so."

"Ah, come on. Such a pretty face must have a beautiful name." she fought the sensation of flushing, what a creep. "I can assure you I can be quite persistent." She rolled her eyes, a determined creep even better.

"Stay away from me." She stated and turned once again to leave.

"Alright, I'll just try and guess. Hmm...Beatrice? No no...Savannah? Eh maybe..." She shook her head as she walked away listening to him go on. "Marley...nope definitely not, maybe Tweety?" Is he serious? She thought. The stranger smacked his forehead suddenly. "Duh, I know. Raven, right?" That stopped her. That was quite the lucky the guess. He smiled triumphantly, something dark peaking out behind it. "Teen Titan, right?" Well, they _were_ technically famous.

"Yeah, that's right." She answered cautiously. He nodded.

"And there _is_ only five of you?" That threw her off a bit, she turned back around to face him once more.

"Uh, no that's just my team. This isn't our city, there's another team here."

"So what brings _you_ here?"

Is this a crazed fan or what? "Crime, obviously"

He nodded, looking her over. Then began shaking his head no, "Really? I-I haven't seen any."

"Well we think there's going to be some okay? Which is actually what I'm looking for if you don't mind." She was growing past irritated, this wasn't the first time they had been hindered by ignorant fans. He smiled again.

"I see," Patting his lip with his index finger. "Then I guess I'll leave you to it."

Hoping to finally get away, she turned and walked away briskly. That was...Her beeping communicator cut her wondering short and she answered it to report to Robin.

Robin sat perched on a rooftop, expert eyes scanning everything from their vantage point. The sky was heavily tinted orange, with a breeze almost lazily gliding over the city. Civilians walked the streets, some in pairs, many in groups. Things had been quiet since he had found the rooftop. If not for the dread pooling in his abdomen things would almost look peaceful.

He waited for Raven to answer his call while acknowledging this. Once her face appeared on the screen he spoke, "Raven report. Have you found anything?" Raven looked over her shoulder as she answered him.

"Not really, just had an interesting conversation with some creep in an alley." His eye narrowed.

"Elaborate?"

She sighed, "Some guy started pestering me about the nice weather. He knew I was a Titan but wanted my name, probably some crazed fan.

That didn't make sense to Robin, "Crazed fan huh? Crazed fans don't' usually start out talking about the weather." He thought back to the hoards of screaming drones they had all encountered time to time.

"Well a weird fan then, it's no big deal."

"And why ask your name if he knew you were a Titan wouldn't he have known?"

"Maybe he just wasn't sure." She didn't want him getting worked up over nothing, but she had to admit the whole encounter had been strange, "I don't know, something did feel...off about him."

"What was it?"

Raven shook her head, "He played dumb at first but then he said my name, then he seemed to know exactly who I was and he asked how many titans were here."

That did it for Robin, for it sounded a lot like she had been talking to someone sizing up his opponents. "What's your location? Is he still there?" Robin's sudden alarm worried her.

"No, he left I guess. But he's probably not far, should I go back-"

"No! Wait for me." He hung up and Raven slumped against a wall. _Shouldn't even have said anything._ She looked down the alley way only moments ago, he did in fact seem to leave in a hurry. In retrospect she could also see why Robin thought it was necessary to investigate. There was definitely something up with the stranger. She replayed the scene again, practicing her deduction skills. She was pondering over the point of feigning ignorance to her name when she smelt it. A fuse, powder based, and close. Very close. Like-_oh shit,_ she realized and turned to put a shield between her and the building behind her just as it exploded. The forced threw her against the building adjacent to the now burning one.

"Fuck." She muttered rubbing her head. She surveyed the damage and reached out with her empathy to do a quick sweep for anyone inside. Luckily it was empty. Her relief didn't linger, for she heard the tell tale sounds of a building now unstable. Her eyes ventured up, towards the top of the structure that was in the process of collapsing. She squinted, when she had been leaning against it the building had been a steely gray. As she looked at it now, it was a dark red color. But she had no time to ponder it further, large chunks of the building were now landing around her. She ran to the street out of the path of the cement, only to be hit in the shoulder by a brick. She looked up, somehow the building had changed directions, and was now snapping at the middle and careening towards her at an unnatural speed.

She felt impact from her right. Opening her eyes revealed the demolished building several feet in front of her, and Robin at her side. "Thanks." She said in earnest. He nodded,

"What happened?"

"I don't know. I was just siting there and then there was an explosion..."

Robin looked the scene over, "And this is where you met our 'fan'? He questioned. Raven nodded.

A flash of green appeared next to her so quickly, that she felt her hair stir. "Dude what the-Rae are you okay?" She didn't bother looking at the changeling, she felt the concern from him,

"Yes of course." she said gesturing to Robin.

Beast Boy smiled. "Figures." The boy wonder left them to survey the scene.

It had to be him, he thought eying the wreckage. Too much a coincidence...he trailed off to other thoughts. "Raven?" He asked and the empath rose to her feet to go to him. "You said there was just one explosion? How strong?"

"Not very. I mean it threw me a good ten feet, but was it enough to level the place? I don't think so."

Then what was it? Robin thought it over, deciding he'd have to wait for the investigation report to be sure. But of one thing he was sure. "Alright." He pulled his communicator out, calling the other titans. "We have our lead." Beast Boy and Aqualad, who had shown up panting, looked confused.

"Um okay, what is it?" The changeling inquired.

"Not what, who." Robin corrected, "Raven the man you spoke with, did you get a good look at him?" She nodded, "Good. Type a description here," He handed her his communicator, "He's likely responsible and it's important we find him quickly for questioning.

Sending the profile to everyone, He also attached a note saying last seen near 15th downtown; this is who we're looking for.

_Alright, this should be the last chapter before all the good stuff so bare with me. A great thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, Do please remember to keep doing so, I dearly love to hear from you all. Haha "feels, so many feels." That one cracked me up. And as a matter of fact there will be a great many feels in up and coming events. I'm so excited XP

As Ever,

Hailey Liddell


	6. Hunting or Hunted?

Searching for a barely known target in a metro the size of Steel City can be mind numbing, and even pointless. With dozens of alleys and vantage points, slier villains could easily evade even the most trained sets of eyes. As perhaps a testament to his sanity, Robin acknowledged this and devised a schedule that at least kept things productive. The first shift of the day took to the huge data base they had at their disposal to dig for any updates, leads, etc about this mysterious person. Often going over old case files to see if perhaps someone had encountered him before. Beast Boy took to this easily, as it was mostly rounds of coffee and spinning around in his chair, since he had been paired with Cyborg and Raven who easily blew through enough information for three. The second shift involved scouring the city for any traces of the man. Revisiting the area where he'd been seen to look for a secret lair or something, asking if he'd been spotted, following a lot of empty leads. It was nothing difficult, just tiring, and Beast Boy never made much progress there either because he had a habit of continuously checking on Raven; her close call the previous week having never left his mind. The last shift was training and was often where things got heated. Long days combined with endless frustration and preexisting tension made this quite the way to end the day.

Raven, Beast Boy, and Aqualad were currently training. It was a simple course, just a few obstacles and targets to hit, but they were making the most of it. Beast Boy took the form of a cheetah to start the race to the first obstacle, bounding off of it and slicing a flying target mid air. Aqualad gracefully leap into the air and took it down much the same. As Beast Boy darted between the cones diagonally placed in front of him, Aqualad sprinted over the top of them, taking the lead. Beast Boy growled as he launched over the remaining cones. Aqualad sliced through several standing targets, making almost a dance of it. Raven had to admit it was endearing to watch. He brought the final one down and followed it to the ground with his fist. He looked up and playfully winked in her direction. She merely blushed and looked down at the controls.

A green monkey then landed on his shoulder and began wildly digging through his hair. He leaped away onto the awaiting monkey bars before Aqualad could grab him. Quickly he straightened his frazzled locks and ran after in pursuit. The monkey stopped to turn back, making mocking faces while jumping up and down. Thoroughly irritated, Aqualad's eyes darted to the water. He summoned a tidal wave, raising it high above the monkey. Beast Boy squealed and braced himself as the wave came crashing down. Aqualad smiled triumphantly and waited for the water to subside. Once it did he was dismayed to see Beast Boy was untouched and shielded by a ball of black energy.

"You're supposed to be fighting the course _not each other_." Raven scolded lowering herself between them. She perhaps would have went on, but the communicator buzzing against her hip diverted her attention.

Robin sat perched on a rooftop, his eyes trying their best to be fixed on everything at once. The light was beginning to fade from the day and he thought it best to prepare his night vision lenses. As he pulled them from his bag, a spark of crimson energy caused them to drop from his grasp. He shot up, quickly searching for the source. A figure standing on the roof directly across from him, arms crossed at the chest, met his eyes. Without hesitation he had his grappling gun in hand and shot a cable to connect with the building the man was standing on. It felt like he made it there in an instant, but his target was already jumping rooftops several buildings away. With narrow eyes, Robin followed in pursuit. They eventually reached a large, industrial looking building.

Robin burst through the doors, but cautiously looked around as he entered. "Not bad." A voice echoed from above.

Looking up, Robin saw the stranger leaning easily against the railing at few flights up. "I could say the same to you." He countered, trying to size up his soon to be opponent.

The man smiled easily, "I have my talents."

"I'm impressed, but it's over!"

Tilting his head the man replied, "Over?", he looked down his watch shaking his head, "No, not yet. But don't worry, we'll get there." He finished smiling once again.

Robin wished to end the banter and just take him down, but he thought it best to wait for him to strike first. He hadn't seen him in combat, but had plenty of images of decimated buildings to be cautious of. His only disadvantage was from the way this guy was looking at him, he seemed to already be aware of Robin's reserve. The stranger spoke again, taking Robin back.

"Sorry, are you waiting for me?" His masked eyes widened even if only slightly, it was as if he heard his thoughts. The stranger did a front flip off of the rails and landed gracefully on the ground level with Robin. The two men maintained eye contact for several minutes, Robin keeping his face stern and composed while the other looked easily into his eyes. The man looked away, and to his hand that was now crackling with crimson energy. "Geez, you heroes are always so quick to the battle field. I wonder how much effort could be saved if you'd just start asking what was the matter."

Robin scowled. "I find there's not much point in talking to a deranged mind."

"Deranged?" He seemed offended, looking back to Robin, "That's harsh coming from someone is green tights."

"I'm not here to talk fashion, I'm here to stop a criminal from tearing down anymore cities."

He was smiling once again, "Well at least it's safe to say I have your attention."

Robin couldn't get a read on this creep. He seemed half here and half who knows where, talking like he was in on a joke Robin knew nothing about. His easy demeanor even when his carnage was mentioned reminded him vaguely of the joker, which almost was enough to make him worry. He watched carefully at the man began walking, his hand still surrounded in energy. "You can't make it easy for me can you?" The man asked.

"If you want it to be easy, turn yourself in now."

"Jail? Now that's funny. Do you have a cell that can hold me?"

"I'm sure we can have something arranged."

Robin noted that the ground below the man's arm was slowly starting to crack, small fragments floating up into the air. He took on a battle stance, readying his staff.

"You're gonna need a lot more than that." The red energy suddenly expanded and he turned towards Robin sending a large blast his way. Robin leapt into the air narrowly escaping. He grabbed onto the platform above and swung up over the railing. Another blast was sent his way and he dodged it, now running along the metal floor. The man sent another and another, Robin jumping over one and out ran the rest. He rolled under yet another, coming out of it he found himself face to face with the stranger. He went to attack but found he wasn't able to move, looking down he saw his body encased in the same dark red energy. He was tossed from the plat form and landed on hard on the ground. Rolling over onto his back, he reached for his communicator and hit the emergency button; sending a distress signal to Raven and the others.

He quickly was on his feet again and sent several explosives at his opponent, giving him a taste of his own medicine. He easily dodged them and ran along the length of the platform. Robin continued to throw explosives doing more damage to the building than his opponent by far. Looking irritated, the man jumped down to join him at ground level. His masked eyes narrowed, another explosive in hand. The man took on a battle stance, "How about we do this the old fashion way before you level the place?" He offered and Robin smirked, adopting a stance of his own,

"Fine by me."

The fight between the two grew so intense that Robin almost had to admit he was enjoying it. His opponent's technique wasn't the most difficult to counter but he was quick, unearthly quick for sure. Fists flew from, almost literally, every direction. Robin dodged the best he could, managing to avoid all but one which connected with his forehead. He stumbled back but quickly spun around to face his opponent once more. He was thrown off by what he saw, the man was looking casually at his watch. "Alright, this is getting boring." He said looking back to Robin. In an instant there was a blast of red energy heading right for him, Robin braced himself but never felt impact. He opened his eyes to see the wall of black energy that had saved him.

"Robin are you okay?" Raven was now next to him.

"Fine, and I'm guessing this is who you met in town the other day?" Raven looked to the man across from them, giving a nod to her leader.

"Good to see you again too." The man smiled at her.

"Hey!" Beast Boy suddenly interjected, "You can't just go around throwing buildings at people!" The man smirked a the comment. A green rhino charging at him, the man swiped his hand as if casually swatting a fly, sending Beast Boy into the wall.

Raven looked from her friend to him, "Stop it!" She commanded.

He looked at her, "Well why don't you distract me?" Her brows furrowed at the question.

He eyed her intently, "I would love to see what you can do."

With a grimace, she readied her hands with black energy. When he failed to move, she noticed a small red light flashing by his ear. He said something she couldn't hear. Was he talking to someone? The man closed his eye with a sigh. "Don't you ever wish you had more time?" He asked looking at Raven again. He seemed to be waiting for her to say something. He kicked a piece of metal into the air, watching it rise slowly until it just froze in mid air. Looking around she saw her teammates as well as the titans east frozen in place as well. She was suddenly having flash backs from her birthday a few years back...

He continued to watch her. "Can you do this?" He asked.

"I'm not here to trade magic tricks." she said. As he stared at her she felt a tugging sensation.

She was now furious, "And no one is allowed in my head!"

He smiled strangely, as if somehow pleased, "I see." In an instant he was in front of her. "My name is Malign." He took her hand, she was so taken back she couldn't react. He went to kiss her skin but she jerked her hand away. He smiled and but it soon turned to a frown, "And I'm rather sorry about this."

"Wha-" She began but was soon cut off by his glowing red eyes and large chunks of debris falling around her. With a gasp she quickly threw a force field up around herself and her friends as the entire building was leveled.

Moments later she heard her teammates and Robin at her side asking what exactly happened. "I'm not sure." she responded, looking quizzically at the piece of metal resting at her feet.


End file.
